Rocket team celebrates world first launch from privately built spaceport

The group’s Electron rocket, a 17m long launch system developed for delivering small payloads, such as cubesats, into space, was launched on 25^th May from a purpose built space port on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula.

Designed to carry a payload of around 150kg, the rocket is powered by Rocket Lab’s own Rutherford engines (named after the famous physicist Ernest Rutherford). Fuelled with liquid Oxygen and Kerosene the engine uses pumps powered by battery-powered electric motors rather than a gas generator, expander, or preburner. Many of the engine’s key components are fabricated using an electron beam melting 3D printing process.

https://vimeo.com/219074370

Commenting on the launch Rocket Lab CEO Peter Beck said: “We’re one of a few companies to ever develop a rocket from scratch and we did it in under four years. We’ve worked tirelessly to get to this point. We’ve developed everything in house, built the world’s first private orbital launch range, and we’ve done it with a small team."